


Where You Go, I Follow

by Verathin



Series: Hidekane Week 2018 [1]
Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Day 1: Partners in Crime, Hidekane Week 2018, M/M, Mild Language, Thief!Kaneki, thief!Hide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-23
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2019-06-10 15:24:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15294408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verathin/pseuds/Verathin
Summary: Hide and Kaneki had nothing to do with each other until they crossed paths one day many months ago. Now they travel together as partners in crime, dodging the shadows that lie in both of their pasts.





	Where You Go, I Follow

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, and welcome to Hidekane week 2018! Now, before we begin, I’d like to ward off any unpleasantries by stating that I literally could not care less about what’s canon. If we weren’t allowed to alter canon, fanfics as a medium would become obsolete, so kindly take your BS elsewhere. Now, if you have a legitimate concern about this ship or my writing, feel free to talk to me and I’ll see if we can come to an understanding, but I have lost all patience with the self-centered morons who purposely seek out Hidekane works just to be edgy and inflate their own egos by attacking something that does them literally no harm. This has been a PSA from your author. Thank you for your time.

It was the middle of the day when the knock came. The woman inside looked up from her sewing, uncertain who it could be but not terribly concerned. She opened the door and was greeted by a young man wearing a traveler’s cloak.

“I’m sorry for bothering you,” he said politely. “I’ve been traveling for a few days now but I seem to have gotten lost. Is there anywhere nearby I could spend a night or two while I get my bearings?”

A common enough occurrence, she supposed. The roads around these parts all looked the same. “There’s an inn not too far from here,” she told him. “Just follow main street about five minutes that way and take a left, you should find it with no trouble. Where are you coming from?”

The young man hesitated. “Oh, I’m from the north,” he said. “Just after the mountains.”

“My, that’s quite some ways away! I won’t keep you any more then, you must be exhausted. Good luck on your journey.”

“Thank you very much, ma’am.” He smiled, bowed, and turned away. Once the door had closed behind him, he was joined by another cloaked figure.

“Well aren’t you charming,” smirked the newcomer.

“Shut up, Hide,” Kaneki scowled, walking past him without looking. Hide laughed and fell into step beside him.

“You’re not even going to ask what I got?” he asked.

“I figured you were going to tell me anyways,” Kaneki shrugged.

“Hmm. Well, you were right. Two eggs, one apple, and- get this- five whole pastries. Not sure what kind they are, but it looked like you were wrapping up so I didn’t have time to check.”

Kaneki eyed him sharply, lowering his voice before he spoke. “Isn’t five a bit much?” he asked quietly. “She’ll be bound to notice that many.”

“It’s fine,” said Hide reassuringly. “There must have been at least a hundred- probably a baker’s family or something. Besides, we haven’t had anything sweet in ages.”

Kaneki was skeptical, but he trusted Hide to know what he was doing. They followed the main road back the way they’d come, turning onto a smaller path that cut through the forest and then picking over the undergrowth to their small camp. Hide added the day’s haul to their stock of stolen goods, and Kaneki pulled out the map to plot their next route.

“I was thinking of heading west,” he said eventually. “We should be able to follow this river all the way to the ocean.”

Hide _hmmm_ ’d and sat down beside him. “It’s up to you,” he said, leaning against his shoulder. “Are we leaving now?”

Kaneki looked at the sky and shook his head. “Let’s wait till tomorrow. We can head out first thing in the morning.”

That night they curled together under the blankets and prepared for sleep. “Tell me a story?” asked Kaneki sweetly, already drowsy. Hide pretended to think about it before smiling and searching his mind.

“Once upon a time,” he began, “there was a beautiful young prince who lived in a faraway tower. The tower was guarded by a fearsome fire-breathing dragon. The prince was terribly lonely, but he could neither leave his tower nor have any visitors, because the dragon killed them all.

“But one day, a mysterious knight showed up at the tower. The prince was afraid that the knight would attack the dragon, as many before him had tried and failed to do. But this knight was cunning and knew better than to use violence. Instead he flattered the dragon with praise and gifts, making sure to complement its beautiful scales and eyes.

“Once the dragon had lowered its guard, the knight innocently asked if he might be allowed to climb the tower, to get closer to the dragon’s magnificent face. The dragon agreed and the knight quickly scaled the tower walls. Once he reached the top, he jumped on the dragon’s nose and tickled it until it started sneezing. While the dragon was distracted the prince was able to escape the tower and the knight followed after him and then they lived happily ever after the end.”

He glanced over at Kaneki, who was fast asleep and nestled against his side. He remembered when they’d first started traveling together, when Kaneki had been wary and distrustful, and thought about how far they’d come.

“Goodnight,” he whispered, closing his eyes and falling asleep to the sound of Kaneki’s breathing.

* * *

The next morning they woke up as the sun rose and packed away their things. Kaneki estimated that if they didn’t run into any trouble, they should be able to reach the next town over by noon. After that they’d probably stay put for a couple days then continue their journey west. Once they reached the ocean, they would check the map and set out all over again.

At Hide’s suggestion, they stayed away from the main road, sticking mostly to forest paths to avoid being seen. The odds of anyone recognizing them were slim, but as he pointed out it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Oh by the way, I was thinking we might need to get new blankets soon,” Kaneki mentioned absently. “It’s going to start getting colder soon, and the ones we have are pretty old.”

“Blankets, got it,” noted Hide. “Anything else?”

Kaneki considered for a moment. “Maybe some more medical supplies,” he decided. “And paper.”

“Your wish is my command,” Hide grinned, bowing in an exaggerated manner. “I take it we’ll be doing some shopping then?” Kaneki ignored the remark, knowing full well that there would be money changing hands.

By midday they’d found a good place to set up camp, far enough from town not to be discovered by not so out of the way that getting back and forth would be a hassle. They put on their cloaks and easily fell into the roles of a couple travelers looking to replenish their supplies. While Kaneki smooth talked the shopkeepers, Hide would duck into the back and make off with whatever it was they were looking for and they’d make a getaway before anyone noticed they’d been robbed. If they did things right, they never noticed at all.

“That’s blankets and paper,” Hide checked off as they left the stationer’s. “Do we have to get the medicine today, or can that wait? I’m tired.”

“No, that’s fine,” Kaneki reassured him. “It’s been a pretty long day so far. Wanna go back and get some rest? I can handle this last bit.”

Hide raised an eyebrow. “You sure? You won’t get lonely or anything without me?”

“I’m sure. Go.”

“Going,” said Hide, interpreting Kaneki’s expression to mean that if he kept teasing he was going to get whacked on the head. Kaneki watched him leave, waiting until he was out of sight to turn back into town.

 _Let’s see,_ he thought to himself.  _Bandages and antiseptic are always good to have, maybe some pain reliever…_ Once he was satisfied with his list he stopped a passerby to ask for directions and went on his way, confident he’d be back to Hide within half an hour.

This confidence waned somewhat when he got to the chemist’s only to find it closed. The person he’d asked hadn’t mentioned anything about it, so he was a little put off, but surely there was an explanation.

“I’m afraid he’s gone home early to prepare for the festival,” said someone beside him. The old lady must have noticed his confusion and approached without him realizing.

“Festival?” he asked. “When?”

“Tomorrow,” she told him. “In the evening. He should be back the day after that.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you.” She accepted the thanks and might have said something else, but Kaneki’s mind had already left the conversation.

By the time he got back to camp it was almost four in the afternoon. Hide raised an eyebrow as he sat down, smirking in a way that let him know he was about to make a sarcastic remark.

“Did you get lost?” he asked.

“Shut up, Hide,” Kaneki told him, shoving his bag to the side of the tent. He thought for a moment, then crawled over to where Hide was sitting and put his arms around his shoulders, leaning forward so their bodies were pressed together.

“Don’t make any plans for tomorrow, okay?” he smiled. Hide blinked, a little confused but not at all opposed to this turn of events.

“Okay?” he said. It wasn’t as if he would have been making plans anyway. “Is there something I should know about?”

Kaneki grinned at him coyly. “It’s a surprise,” he said, angling his head so their mouths were aligned. Hide, of course, had never been one for resisting temptation, so he ignored the attempt at a waiting game and closed the final gap between them. He ran a hand down Kaneki’s back and lifted the hem of his shirt, pulling back just enough to gauge his reaction.

“I thought you were tired?” teased Kaneki.

“Who, me? Nonsense.”

“Mmmm.” Kaneki closed his eyes as Hide finished taking off his shirt and leaned against him, tracing patterns on his chest. “Good.”

* * *

 Hide was quickly realizing that Kaneki had been serious when he said it was a surprise. He’d asked about it earlier that morning, but the only reply he’d gotten so far was, “You’ll see.” Meanwhile, they were running out of daylight and he was no closer to enlightenment.

Finally, near sundown, Kaneki took him by the hand and led him outside.

“Before we go anywhere else, I wanted to give you this,” he said, pressing a paper flower into his hand. “I uh, hadn’t originally planned anything else, but there was this festival going on tonight and I thought maybe you might want to go with me?” He lifted his eyebrows hopefully and Hide couldn’t help the rush of affection he felt because why wouldn’t he want to go on a date with his utterly adorable boyfriend? He accepted the flower and tucked it behind his ear, turning his head to present the adornment for approval. Kaneki smiled, then linked their arms together.

It had been ages since he’d last been to a festival, Hide realized as he looked around at the lights and decorations. The last time had been with his parents when he was a child. Thinking about it now made him feel strangely nostalgic, even though he probably hadn’t enjoyed it in the moment.

“Hide, look, they have food stalls. Do you want anything?” Hide was about to point out that it would be hard to get away with when there were so many people around, but Kaneki had already pulled out a small bag of coins.

“Tonight is for enjoying ourselves,” he said. “Okay?”

Hide certainly didn’t have any problems with that. They bought snacks and candy and all the sorts of things they could usually never get their hands on. Hide discovered the gaming booths and spent at least an hour on them, determined to win each one at least once. It didn’t matter that much, of course, but he loved the way Kaneki laughed each time he cried, “Just one more try!”

Close to midnight, a crowd started gathering near the town square. By that time they were running low on money anyways, so they decided to go see what was happening. For several minutes there was nothing but the chatter of the people around them, but as the clock began to strike twelve there was a burst of color and light in the sky. Kaneki jumped at the explosion, instinctively clutching at Hide’s sleeve and then hurriedly letting go in an attempt to pretend nothing had happened. Hide laughed, wrapping an arm around Kaneki’s waist and pulling him closer as they watched the fireworks together. While Kaneki quickly became absorbed in the spectacle, Hide kept finding himself distracted by the look of wonder on his face, questioning not for the first time how he could have gotten so lucky. Just a year ago he would never have expected to be this happy.

Before they knew it the display was over, stall owners were packing up and the crowd started to disperse.

“So? What did you think?” asked Kaneki, eyes glinting.

“It was wonderful,” Hide told him. “Thank you.” He reached out to brush Kaneki’s hair back but froze as a sudden chill ran down his spine. He lifted his gaze to the edge of the lingering crowd and locked eyes with a man in dark clothing, who frowned at him suspiciously.

“Hide?” asked Kaneki, startling him back into focus.

“Huh? Oh, uh…” he floundered, trying to bring his mind back to the moment. “Sorry, what?”

“You kinda zoned out for a second there. Are you okay?”

Crap, he wasn’t sure what to say to that. He didn’t want to make Kaneki worry, but he couldn’t just lie to him either.

“…Kaneki,” he said. “I think we need to go.” Without waiting for a response Hide turned and started heading back, pulling Kaneki by the hand.

“Go? Wait, what do you mean?” Kaneki called after him, stumbling a little at the sudden motion.

“I just…” Dammit, this shouldn’t be affecting him so much, but he really thought he’d gotten away from them. “There’s someone here I’d rather not be talking to right now,” he managed eventually. “I’ll explain it more later if you want, but for now can we just not be here anymore? Please?”

Kaneki had never seen Hide like this before, and he was certainly worried, but he knew better than to pry. What mattered most right now was getting to a place where Hide felt safe. They made their way back to camp, packed up as quickly as possible, and set out.

It felt strange to be travelling at night. It wasn’t too cloudy, so they could see well enough, but the colors were different and the sound was wrong. That, and the atmosphere between them was strained- Hide’s mouth was drawn in a thin line and his forehead was creased, and Kaneki’s eyes were cast to the ground.

Without having looked at the map they didn’t know any landmarks to look for, and the only indication of time passing was the steady drift of stars across the sky. Those effects combined made it impossible to tell how much progress they were making- no matter how far they went, everything looked the same. Without meaning to Kaneki started leaning against Hide as he walked, trying to keep pace but too tired to translate the desire into action.

“Hey,” said Hide quietly, putting an arm around him. “Are you okay? Do you need to take a break?”

“No,” Kaneki replied hurriedly. “I’m fine, really. I can keep going.”

Hide looked at him, a gentle expression on his face. “Ken,” he said, placing a hand on his cheek. “You don’t need to lie to me. Should we stop?”

Kaneki hesitated. “Are you sure?” he asked. “That person could be following us.” He’d seen the fear in Hide’s eyes and the last thing he wanted was to be responsible for them getting caught.

“It’s fine,” Hide told him. “We’ve come far enough for now, I don’t think they’ll find us that easily. Besides, we’ll cover more ground by getting some rest now than if we push ourselves too hard, okay?” Kaneki wasn’t entirely convinced about the first part, but the second bit made sense. They found a place not too far off the road and laid down their blankets since they were both too tired to set up the tent.

“Hey, Ken?” said Hide as they lay down. “I know I kinda ruined it towards the end there, but I really did enjoy tonight. So thank you.”

“You didn’t ruin it,” Kaneki told him firmly, the edge taken off somewhat by the fact that he was half asleep. “The whole point was doing something to make you happy, and if you’re happier away from there then I’m glad to have left.” He reached over and placed one of his hands over Hide’s, smiling at him through heavy eyelids. Hide squeezed back lightly and pressed their foreheads together.

“I love you,” he said softly. Kaneki closed his eyes, a small smile on his face.

“I love you too.”

* * *

 He’d intended for that to be the end of it. There was no real reason to believe that he’d been seen- it had been dark, they’d been in a crowd, he’d had his hood up- but when they woke up the next morning a little voice started whispering that it wasn’t enough. That they had to go farther.

Kaneki seemed to accept this and followed him without complaint, and for the next several days they laid low. On one hand, he was grateful that he was humoring his bizarre paranoia, but he also felt bad about dragging him around with no explanation. It was just that he himself didn’t has an explanation for it. He’d always known that there was a risk of being recognized, but it had never mattered that much until right now. Maybe he’d been so used to being fortunate that he’d subconsciously assumed that no trouble would ever come to him, and now he was being faced with the realization that he wasn’t immune from bad luck.

 He could tell Kaneki was dying to ask who or what it was he was running from. It was only natural, and really, he deserved to know- if he got caught, it would affect both of them. But despite knowing that, the words wouldn’t come out. Every time he opened his mouth a horrible sinking feeling would settle in his stomach and he ended up staying silent, hoping that Kaneki wouldn’t notice.

Kaneki noticed. He didn’t say anything about it, since they’d both agreed that there was no need to talk about their pasts, but he noticed and it worried him. He’d always tried to provide whatever support Hide needed, but for some reason Hide wasn’t confiding in him anymore and he couldn’t understand why.

In the beginning he told himself that he just needed some time to think, then they’d talk it out and everything would be okay again. By the third day it became clear that it wasn’t going to be that simple. A divide was opening up between them that neither of them knew how to bridge.

He shivered- the cold had begun setting in. He closed his eyes and willed himself to ignore it, trying instead to focus on Hide’s breathing beside him. Normally he wouldn’t have thought twice about wrapping his arms around him and drawing warmth from his body, but suddenly he was hesitating.

 _Maybe he’s not talking to you because he knows you wouldn’t be able to help,_ said his low self-esteem. _He just doesn’t want to make you feel bad by reminding you of how worthless you are. You try to make up for it by buying him presents and doing nice things, but we saw how well that went. You’ve already done more harm than good, you wouldn’t want to bother him any more by being too clingy, would you?_

In the dark, Kaneki scowled. Hide wasn’t like that. He knew Kaneki needed physical contact, and he’d always made sure to remind him that there was nothing wrong with that.

_Sure, but it’s still your fault that you’re on the run right now. If you hadn’t done anything, you’d both be happy right now._

If he hadn’t done anything? He’d only been trying to do something nice for Hide, but it had completely backfired. No matter how you thought about it, it was definitely his fault. Could he blame Hide if he was upset?

That night he fell asleep cold.

* * *

 If he’d hoped to feel better in the morning, he was disappointed. If anything, he felt worse- he was tired and cold and lonely and he’d slept wrong so his neck hurt. Hide was being nice as usual, but he was still pretending that everything was alright and Kaneki was still too much of a coward to ask him about it.

That afternoon they went into town for the first time since the festival. They made their usual rounds and managed to get enough to last them a couple days at least, and Kaneki thought they would just head back but Hide stopped unexpectedly and turned to him.

“Hey, uh,” he said uncertainly. “Can you wait here for a minute? There’s something I want to do.”

Surprised, Kaneki could only nod. Then Hide walked off and he was left alone. For a few seconds he just stood there, awkwardly shuffling his feet in the dirt. Eventually he decided that it would draw less attention if he pretended to be doing something, so he found a notice board and occupied himself looking at the various flyers and advertisements. It was all completely ordinary stuff. Just as he was about to turn away, though, one of the posters caught his eye. He stepped closer, feeling a darkness settle in his heart as he confirmed what he’d already seen.

“I’m back!” called Hide, and Kaneki jumped, hastily tearing the poster down and stuffing it in his pocket. Hide didn’t appear to notice. “Did I startle you? Sorry about that.” He reached behind his back and pulled out a small flower, presenting it to Kaneki and placing it in his hair.

“I know it’s not much,” he said apologetically, “but it’s sort of a thank-you present. I can’t do origami, so…” He trailed off sheepishly and Kaneki felt the darkness lighten a little.

“Thank you,” he said earnestly. “You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to,” Hide told him. “I know I’ve been sort of out of it lately, but I love you and I don’t want you to think I’m avoiding you or anything.”

Kaneki felt a little guilty, because that was exactly what he’d been thinking, but he smiled anyway and took Hide by the hand.

“I know you wouldn’t do that,” he said, not sure if he was saying it to Hide or to himself. “That’s not the sort of person you are.” He held the smile until Hide was no longer looking at him. Once his back was turned, however, the shadows began creeping in once more. The poster that he’d stolen burned in his back pocket, the symbol of Hide’s fears. They couldn’t keep running away forever. They had to talk about this. Soon.

Of course, that was easier said than done.  He’d been sitting here for half an hour playing through the conversation in his head, trying to work up the nerve and failing horribly. How was he even supposed to bring it up? What if he said something careless and hurt Hide somehow? There were a thousand ways this could go wrong, and it terrified him.

His internal conflict must have been showing on his face, because Hide was giving him a look. He had to say something.

“I um…” he said, trailing off when Hide shifted all of his attention to him. He’d thought that if he could just start talking, the momentum would carry him through, but he had underestimated his paralyzing fear of confrontation. He swallowed, gathering his courage again.

“Earlier today,” he started. “I- I found this. And I thought you should know about it.” With baited breath, he handed the poster to Hide. He watched as his eyes scanned the paper and his expression turned cold. By now, Kaneki knew what he was seeing by heart: in large letters, the words “Missing- Nagachika Hideyoshi” followed by a picture and then, “Reward 50,000 crowns by order of the royal family.”

Hide put the poster down. For a long moment, neither of them said anything and Kaneki was sure he’d made a mistake. He’d invaded Hide’s privacy and brought up something he wanted to keep hidden and now Hide was going to leave and-

“Are you mad at me?”

He paused. That had been Hide; why was Hide asking him that? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

“Why would I be mad at you?” he asked. Hide looked up, just as confused as he was.

“Because… I mean…” Hide floundered for words. “I’m not… a good person? Like, there are people out there who are starving and I’ve spent my whole life in a castle, and they’d probably kill for the opportunities I’ve had but I just threw it away like it was nothing. I don’t see how much worse you can get.”

“I don’t think that makes you a bad person,” Kaneki said. “It’s not fair to assume that having money or status means you have to be happy. You must have had your reasons, right?”

Hide blinked. “Well… I mean, I guess, but-”

“Then it’s fine.” Kaneki smiled at him. “To be honest, I was afraid you’d be mad at me for bringing it up.”

“Of course not,” Hide told him. “I should have told you a long time ago, but it was just… nice, being with someone who didn’t have any expectations for me.”

Normally Kaneki would have taken this at face value, but something about the way he’d said it had felt sad.

“Do you… wanna talk about it?” he asked hesitantly. Hide looked at him, looked away, and sighed.

“I don’t know if I’d say I _want_ to,” he said eventually. “But it’s something you should hear.”

He’d been born the third son of the royal family. As the youngest, he’d been given his mother’s maiden name and spent most of his time with her while his brothers learned how to be kings. When he was five, his oldest brother fell sick, and within the year he was dead. His middle brother took up the role of crown prince marvelously and everyone believed he would make a fine king one day. Then, while overseeing a mild conflict in a neighboring country, he was attacked and killed and suddenly Hide became heir to the throne.

He was only eleven at the time. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he was being pressured on all sides to be serious, mind his manners, focus on his studies. All of his time was spent learning about politics and international relations and etiquette and he hated it. What was worst, though, was the change in people’s behavior around him. Servants with whom he used to be friends became uncomfortably deferential, and nobles he’d never met started approaching him and trying to win his favor. They probably thought that a child so young would be easy to influence, but their lavish presents only annoyed him.

When he got a little older, the nobles weren’t the only ones bothering him. Distant relatives who had previously had no chance at the throne had all realized that he was the only direct heir remaining and if only he were out of the way, any one of them could argue for being the next in line. From that point on he’d had to dodge ulterior motives and assassination attempts on a regular basis. With all of that going on, who could blame him for wanting to run away from it all?

He’d been maybe fifteen the first time he worked up the courage. It wasn’t really what you could call running away, since he never even left the castle grounds, but he’d never not been somewhere when he was expected to be and it felt like a big step. Really, he had just needed to get some fresh air. After that, he started sneaking out more often. He liked going into town and just existing. It reminded him of when he was younger and his mother would take him for walks. Thinking back on it, he realized how much she had done to make sure he had a normal childhood- they’d lived in a small house with no servants, so he’d learned how to cook food and do laundry and talk to people. He hadn’t even known he was royalty until he was four and his father took them all to his cousin’s coronation festival.

When he met Kaneki, he had finally had enough and decided he needed more than just a few hours to himself. They’d kept each other company for a while and just sort of ended up sticking together after that.

“And somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you,” Hide finished telling him. He laid a hand against Kaneki’s face, closing his eyes as Kaneki leaned into him. For the first time, they were touching with no secrets between them. He hadn’t realized how much it was weighing on him until he’d put it out in the open.

Kaneki pulled back slightly. “If…” he said, uncertain. “Should I…?"

Hide guessed what he was trying to say and shook his head. “You don’t have to,” he said. “Not if you’re not ready.” Kaneki relaxed, obviously relieved. Transparency was important to a relationship, but so was trust, and Hide wasn’t about to pressure him into a discussion he wasn’t comfortable having.

“I do want to,” he said. “But maybe not now. Is it okay if we wait a little bit?”

“Of course.” Hide leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “And whenever you feel like it, I’ll listen to whatever you have to say.”

That was all that mattered, wasn’t it? They took care of each other- how they did it wasn’t important. Hide felt better having talked about himself, but if Kaneki wasn’t to that point yet then that was fine too. They had plenty of time.

* * *

 “They’re probably just working their way out from the center,” Hide mused. “It’s not like they knew where I was to begin with, otherwise they would have come straight for us. Since they didn’t, I’m guessing they’re pretty spread out right now.”

They had the map spread out in front of them, trying to decide on their path. Now that Kaneki knew the whole story, he had gone into full analysis mode and Hide was feeding him all the details he could think of.

“I’m pretty sure the guards travel in pairs,” he continued. “If we did get seen, we’d have one of them on our trail and the other one would have gone back to report to my parents.”

Kaneki furrowed his brow in concentration. He looked at the map and closed his eyes to visualize what he’d been told.

“The festival was four days ago,” he said, thinking out loud. “And we were maybe a couple hundred kilometers from the capital then, so it’s been just enough time for someone to get back on horseback. Factoring in how long it would take to get word out- the search radius probably grows pretty slowly since there’s perpendicular motion also, so we can assume another four days there and back- we would have about two weeks until the whole search party catches up with us.” He leaned back slightly, opening his eyes again. “We could drag that out if we keep moving, but unless we get somewhere safe we’d just be delaying the inevitable.”

Hide leaned his chin on his hands. They kept throwing around the word ‘if’ like there were a chance the guard hadn’t seen him, but the more he thought about it the less likely that seemed. He knew his guards, he knew how they operated, and even if they weren’t sure he knew they would never drop a lead so easily.

“So we have two weeks to figure something out,” he said, trying to be optimistic. “What do you think we should do?” Kaneki opened his mouth to reply but seemed to second-guess himself.

“Kaneki,” said Hide patiently. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Kaneki made a discontented noise but told him anyway. “I just… I was thinking, if we could make it across the border we might be safe, but I don’t know if that’s even possible.” He frowned and looked at the map again. Hide leaned over his shoulder.

From their current location it wasn’t too far to the border, but the terrain in between was rough and that would slow their progress. Trying to get there without getting caught would be tricky. Still…

“It’s worth trying, isn’t it?” he said. He took Kaneki’s hands in his own and smiled at him encouragingly. Kaneki looked away.

"Are you sure?” he asked. “You could still go back. If we do this, I don’t know what’ll happen.” He finally met Hide’s eyes, imploring. “If something happened to you…”         

“I know.” It was sweet, how much Kaneki worried about him, but he needed to know that this was exactly where he wanted to be. “There’s nothing they could give me there that would be better than being with you.”

He stood up before Kaneki had a chance to respond. “We should get ready. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us.”

* * *

 Long was one word for it. Tiring was another. Neither of them were used to spending an entire day walking, let alone several days on end.

“How’re you doing?” asked Hide when they stopped to catch their breath. They’d been on an incline for a while now and the increased elevation was starting to get to them.

"I’m okay,” Kaneki reassured him. “I think it’s just a little bit farther and it starts going downhill again.”

“Hmm.” Hide grabbed an apple out of his bag and tossed it to him. “You should eat something anyway,” he said. “Keep your strength up.”

Kaneki accepted graciously and ate half of it before handing it back to Hide. “You need to eat too,” he said.

Hide smiled at him. “Right,” he said, lacing their fingers together. They kept going for a few more kilometers and the path began leveling out. Kaneki checked the map again.

“It looks like-” he started, but Hide suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth.

“Someone’s coming,” he whispered. He glanced around and pulled Kaneki behind a rock, motioning for him to stay still. From their hiding place, they could hear the wheels of a cart.

Hesitantly, Hide poked his head out. Kaneki looked at him worriedly, eyebrows raised in a silent question.

“…It’s fine,” Hide told him after a tense pause. “Just a merchant or something.”

Kaneki sighed in relief. He could still feel the adrenaline coursing through him, causing his heart to beat uncomfortably fast. As he struggled to get his breathing under control, an idea came to him.

“Hide,” he said quietly. “How full is the cart?”

Hide looked. “Not very,” he said. “Why, what’re you-” He stopped when he saw the look in Kaneki’s eyes. “…You think?” he asked. “It seems risky.”

Kaneki nodded. According to the map, the nearest town was at least another day’s walk away, probably more, and they were running low on food again. Normally they would tough it out, since they tried to avoid interacting with other travelers, but in their particular situation the additional speed would be a massive benefit.

“I’ll talk to them,” he said. “Keep your hood up, just in case.”

Cautiously, he stood up and walked into the open. The cart slowed as it drew closer, the driver looking wary.

“Who are you?” she asked suspiciously.

“My name is Kaneki Ken,” he answered honestly. “I’m sorry for bothering you, but my friend and I have been on the road for a while and we were wondering if you would be kind enough to lend us a ride?”

The driver frowned at him. “Are you armed?” she asked.

“I’m not. Neither of us are- you can search our bags if you want.” He was pretty sure they weren’t carrying anything incriminating at the moment.

After a moment’s consideration, the driver dropped her guard. “That’s fine,” she said. “I just had to check. You can never be too sure, you know?”

Kaneki nodded understandingly, even though he didn’t quite understand. Fortunately that seemed to satisfy the driver, who motioned for them to climb on.

“So what brings you two all the way out here?” she asked as they started moving. Kaneki and Hide glanced at each other.

“We…” started Kaneki. “We were going to visit my family, but we ran into some trouble and lost most of our things.”

“You have to be careful around here,” said the driver knowingly, and Kaneki felt Hide relax beside him. For now, at least, it looked like they were going to be alright.

Stretching a little, he leaned against Hide’s shoulder and closed his eyes. The exhaustion he’d been ignoring for so long was creeping up on him and suddenly all he could think about was sleep. Hide put an arm around him and they snuggled closer, the gentle bumping of the cart lulling them to sleep.

* * *

 When he woke up, the sun had gone down and it was quiet. It took several moments for him to realize why that was strange- they weren’t moving. Confused, he sat up, shaking Hide’s shoulder to rouse him.

“What’s going on?” asked Hide, half-asleep.

“Quiet,” hissed their driver from the front of the cart. She had drawn a knife and was scanning their surroundings with narrowed eyes. Kaneki crawled to the back and looked around. At first there didn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary, but as his gaze swept over the treeline he thought he spotted movement.

“Shit,’ he whispered to himself.

“Guards?” asked Hide. Kaneki shook his head.

“Bandits,” he said. “We’re surrounded.”

“Shit,” Hide agreed. “What should we do?”

“Keep your heads down and your mouths shut,” the driver told them. “I’m gonna try to deal with this.” They heard her climb down, followed by a muffled conversation. They couldn’t make out exact words, but it sounded like she was arguing with someone. The argument gradually became more heated and someone- probably one of the bandits- began shouting.

“Just show us the damn stuff!” he yelled. “I’ll kill you!”

Hide pulled him closer as they heard footsteps approaching. If it had been guards, they would at least know that they wouldn’t be hurt, but neither of them knew what to expect from these people. They couldn’t run, either- they just had to sit and wait.

Someone stood over them, examining the contents of the cart. “And who are you two?” they asked. They grabbed Kaneki by the arm and heaved him outside, keeping a tight grip so he couldn’t escape.

“Ken!” cried Hide, trying to reach him, but another of the bandits grabbed him from behind and held a knife to his throat.

“Don’t you move now,” they said in a sweet voice. “We just want to see what you have in here, that’s all.” The remaining bandits moved to search the cart.

“There’s nothing there!” shouted the driver angrily. “Let us go!”

“We’ll decide that for ourselves.” The two who weren’t restraining anybody spent several minutes rummaging through various bags and boxes while Hide, Kaneki, and the driver watched. Eventually they stepped back, clearly disappointed.

“Useless,” said one of them. “None of this is worth shit.”

“Are you serious?” asked the other. The one holding Kaneki pushed him away in annoyance, swearing under his breath. Hide’s captor, however, didn’t.

“What the fuck!?” he yelled angrily. “You’re hiding something, I know it!” He pressed the knife harder against Hide’s throat and pulled his head back. “Bring it out, or I kill him!”

Kaneki’s heart stopped. He was vaguely aware of the driver explaining that they weren’t hiding anything, but all he could hear was the blood pounding in his head. He stepped forward just as Hide ducked, twisting out of the bandit’s grasp. The others drew their weapons as well and tried to grab him and Kaneki ran, barely dodging a knife that was thrown at his head. Hide and the driver were both wrestling with the assailants. Without thinking, Kaneki picked up a rock and brought it down on the nearest bandit’s head; they went down with a thud. At the same time, the driver disarmed two more, but was knocked down by the remaining two. They let her fall and unhitched the horses from her cart before retreating.

“Hide!” called Kaneki, running to him. “Are you okay? Did you get hurt?”

Hide shook his head. “I got a couple scratches, but nothing too serious.” He knelt by the driver’s unconscious body. “We need to get her somewhere safe.”

Kaneki hesitated. He’d been asleep for several hours and had no idea where they were- or, by extension, how far it was to reach town. Hide seemed to realize this as well, because he stood up again and bit his lip.

“Okay,” he said. “We can go look for landmarks and get our bearings. Then we’ll come back here and wait ‘til she wakes up.” Kaneki nodded. They lifted the driver into the body of the cart, grabbed their bags just to be safe, and headed off.

“We’re still near the trees, so we must be somewhere around here,” said Kaneki, pointing at the map. Hide nodded but didn’t say anything. “If we can find this fork in the road, we’ll know where we are.” Again, Hide nodded. Kaneki slowed his pace and looked at him.

"Hide?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Hide blinked. “Oh, I’m fine. My stomach just hurts a little. I guess the adrenaline’s wearing off.” Kaneki looked. There were tiny patched of blood staining his cloak.

“Let me see,” he said, frowning. Obediently, Hide held the cloak to the side. His shirt had a large tear in it and blood was seeping through.

“Kaneki, it’s not as bad as it looks,” Hide told him before he could say anything. This would have been reassuring if his face weren’t so pale.

“’Not as bad as it looks’?” he repeated incredulously. “Hide, look at how much blood you’ve lost! You shouldn’t even be standing right now!” On instinct he reached into his bag for bandages or medicine, but he came up empty. His heart sank.

“I’m fine, really,” Hide said. He didn’t look fine. He was looking worse with every passing second.

“Don’t lie to me,” Kaneki told him. “Look at yourself, you’re barely conscious! We’re going back right now.” Even as he said it, it sounded stupid. Hide was in no condition to walk anywhere, and even if they did make it back it wasn’t like it would make any difference. He felt a knot settle in his stomach.

 _Okay, I have to calm down,_ he told himself. _At the very least we have to stop the bleeding._

“Lie down,” he told Hide, taking a clean shirt from his bag, “and take your shirt off.”

“Oh my, how forward of you,” Hide joked even as he winced in pain. Kaneki shot him a sharp look and unbuttoned his shirt, pressing the clean one against his wound.

“Hold that there,” he instructed. It would do for now, but with that sort of injury Hide needed proper medical attention. If it got infected… he didn’t want to think about that.

“Ken,” said Hide, cutting into his thoughts. “You don’t have to look like that. I’m not gonna die from something like this.”

“As far as you know,” Kaneki shot back. “You need to see a doctor. We can’t be that far away from town, I can carry you-” Hide gave him a look that told him exactly what he thought of that idea. It was pretty stupid, but there was only one other thing he could think of and there was no way he was going to leave him here alone.

“You think I can’t handle a few hours by myself?” Hide asked him, once again reading his mind. “We both know I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.” He smiled reassuringly and placed a hand on Kaneki’s shoulder. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

Kaneki still hesitated, reluctant to go even if it was the right thing to do.

“…I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promised. He moved as quickly as possible, determined to minimize the amount of time they spent away from each other. It was interesting, he considered, how easily he had forgotten how to be alone. In the months since they met, he and Hide had never been more than a few meters away from each other. Being separated from him felt… wrong. It was cold.

Of course, some of that may have had to do with the fact that it was the middle of the night. He didn’t even bother looking at the map, since the moon had disappeared behind some clouds and he could barely see his hand in front of his face. Based on memory, though, he knew that once he reached the fork in the road he would have another seven or eight kilometers to go.  He kept his eyes on the ground, making sure that he didn’t miss it or take the wrong path. Once he’d made it that far, he felt at least a little better.

He covered the rest of the distance with his mind kept purposely blank. The fewer thoughts he had, the easier it would be to avoid worrying.

Breaking into the doctor’s office proved easier than he would have expected, considering that he hadn’t picked a lock in years. He moved as quickly as possible, breaking his own rule of ‘take only as much as won’t be noticed.’ It was an emergency situation, after all.

The door opened.

Kaneki froze.

“I thought I heard someone in here,” said somebody behind him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

His heart had stopped beating as he slowly turned around. An old man was standing in the doorway, looking like he’d just woken up- which he probably had. Of course the doctor would be here. This wasn’t a chemist, but he hadn’t been thinking about that when he broke in. He hadn’t been thinking about anything.

“…Please,” he said. “I was- we were- my friend and I, we were attacked by bandits, he got hurt. I don’t have money, but… I’ll do whatever it takes, I’ll work for it, I just can’t leave him like that…” He trailed off, aware of how pathetic he sounded. He’d screwed up and now he was going to get arrested and Hide… what would happen to Hide?

“This friend of yours,” said the doctor, “where is he?”

He looked up. The doctor didn’t sound angry; he was calm and patient.

“I-” he stammered. “He’s- we were on the road, I couldn’t-”

“Far away, then?” Kaneki nodded. “How did you get here? Did you walk?” Another nod, and the doctor pursed his lips. “You’d best hurry back then. Can you ride?”

He was a little overwhelmed, but he still managed an affirmative. The doctor helped him pack what he needed and brought him to a small stable. The horse eyed him curiously as it was untied and Kaneki involuntarily took a step back, intimidated. Then he swallowed, steeling himself. He couldn’t afford any more hesitation.

“Go quickly,” the doctor told him as he took the reins. Kaneki nodded one final time and set off. He had to get back to Hide.

The sun was rising by the time he reached the place where he’d left Hide. Except… Hide wasn’t there.

Hide wasn’t there.

In a state of utter panic, he ran to where he knew he had been. There were bloodstains in the grass, but no other sign of him.

“…No,” he said dumbly. There was no way, he had to be mistaken somehow. Frantically he looked around for anything he could have missed, but to no avail. Just as he was about to give in to despair, though, he heard something.

Hide had his back pressed against a rock, one hand holding his side and the other gripping a knife he must have taken when they were attacked. He was surrounded by a group of ten or twelve people in uniforms, all of whom seemed to be trying to reason with him. Kaneki ran to him, knocking one of the guards to the side in the process. As soon as he broke their ranks they drew their weapons and pointed them at him.

“Don’t hurt him!” cried Hide as they grabbed hold of one another. Kaneki immediately knelt to check his wound while Hide threw a protective arm between him and the guards.

“Your highness, I must ask you to step away from that man,” said one of the guards, but he was silenced by another who held up his hand and stepped forward.

"Kaneki Ken,” he said authoritatively, “you are under arrest for kidnapping the crown prince and once charge of suspected murder, penalty of death.”

“W- what?” he stammered. “I never-” but he stopped. If they were talking about _that_ , then there was nothing he could use to defend himself. Was that possible? How would they know about it? How did they even know who he was?

“That’s not what happened,” Hide told them. “He was helping me, we got attacked by-”

“With all due respect, your highness, I don’t believe you understand the gravity of the situation. This man is incredibly dangerous. For your own safety, please step aside.” The man, who was probably a captain, looked Hide dead in the eye. Hide wavered on his feet a little, very clearly running out of energy. Still, he maintained his resolve.

“I won’t let you do this,” he said, pushing Kaneki farther behind him. “As crown prince, I order you to stand down.”

“Apologies, your highness, but I can’t do that,” said the captain. “I have direct orders from your father to bring you home at all costs.” And with that he raised a hand and the rest of the guards stepped in, holding Hide back while they grabbed Kaneki and restrained him.

“No!” Hide shouted, struggling weakly. Kaneki tried to reach for him but his arms were being held behind his back so he could only watch as he gradually stopped fighting and fell limp. He could do nothing as they were dragged away from each other, nothing as his hands were tied and Hide was taken from him. He was powerless- just like that, it was all over.

Everything was over.

* * *

 Hide woke up with four walls around him and a roof over his head. Even stranger, he was in bed. He lay there for several seconds trying to recall how he had ended up in this situation, only to bolt upright and nearly pass out from the pain that exploded in his side.

“Oh dear, you shouldn’t be getting up just yet.”

There were dark spots obscuring his vision, but he didn’t need to see to know who was in the room with him.

“Why are you here?” he asked angrily. Furuta laughed.

“I’m offended,” he said. “Am I not allowed to pay my respects to our prince?”

“No,” answered Hide flatly. “You aren’t.”

“And if I said I just wanted to see my cousin?”

“Go away.” If he weren’t confined to his bed he would have forcibly removed the weasel from the room, but he couldn’t and Furuta obviously intended to take full advantage of his predicament.

“How rude of you,” he said. “Not even a word of thanks for all I did? If it weren’t for me you’d never have made it home! Unless… you’d rather have stayed with a killer?”

“Kaneki’s never killed anyone!” Hide shouted at him.

“I beg to differ.” Furuta smirked. “When I learned that my dear cousin had been kidnapped, I just had to look into his captor’s background, you know? And I’m afraid to inform you that Kaneki Ken is the prime suspect for the murder of one Yakumo Oomori. Add to that the fact that he kidnapped the crown prince, and well. We simply can’t let such a dangerous man run free.”

“That’s not what happened!” he protested. “Kaneki didn’t kidnap me, I-”

“Are you sure about that?” Furuta had a smug grin on his face, like he was enjoying this. He probably was, the bastard. “If I were you, I’d be choosing me next words very carefully. You wouldn’t want to say anything careless and lose your place, would you?” His grin widened and Hide’s heart sunk as he understood what he was implying.

The previous king, Hide’s great-grandfather, had fled the country during an invasion for fear of losing his head. He returned only after the invading army had been defeated, but by then he had lost all support from the people he had left to be captured or killed. Not long after, the Duty of Rule act was established and abandonment of the throne became an official crime: any member of the royal family found guilty would immediately be removed from the line of succession. Hide had known about this before he ran away, of course, but he’d only intended to be away for a week or two at most and besides, it wasn’t as if the crown prince had any real responsibilities. He’d claim to have been abducted by bandits and while nobody would really believe him, it would be too much effort to prove otherwise.

He hadn’t expected to meet Kaneki. He hadn’t expected to fall in love.

“So?” prompted Furuta. “You were saying?”

Hide gritted his teeth. If he confessed to running away, Kaneki would be absolved of the kidnapping charge but he would lose his authority as a prince and Kaneki would hang for murder. If he kept his title he could pardon him of the murder but Kaneki would hang for treason. Furuta had him trapped and he knew it.

“Nothing,” he said.

“Excellent.” Furuta clapped his hands together and smiled at him triumphantly. “I’ll leave you to get your rest, then.” He twirled as he exited the room and Hide scowled after him. Of all his many relatives, he hated Furuta the most. He didn’t seem to care about inheriting the throne, he just liked toying with people. And now he’d gotten ahold of Kaneki.

Oh god, Kaneki. Where was he? They were going to kill him, and it was all Hide’s fault. If he hadn’t been so careless and gotten himself hurt, none of this would have happened. Gritting his teeth, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and pushed himself upright. Spots flashed before his eyes again, but at least he stayed conscious. Using the wall to support himself he slowly walked to the door and pushed it open. There were two guards standing outside.

Of course there were. It wasn’t like they would just leave him alone after what happened.

“Um… hi,” he said uncertainly. “How are you?”

“Your highness,” they said in unison, standing at attention, and he had to struggle not to grimace. He had forgotten how much he hated this treatment.

“So, nice weather we’re having,” he commented, trying to step past them. It didn’t work.

“His majesty has requested that you remain in your room until you have completely healed,” the guard on the left told him. This time he didn’t bother keeping his expression neutral.

“What have you done with Kaneki?” he demanded.

“Your highness, please, if you would return to bed-”

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me where Kaneki is,” he stated firmly. The two guards exchanged glances.

“…Kaneki Ken is currently being detained awaiting his trial,” said the guard on the right after a moment’s hesitation. “You need not worry, he will be unable to escape.”

“Yeah, thanks,” said Hide bitterly. “And if you see my father, tell him that I’m already completely fine.”

A lie. In truth, he didn’t know what he would have done if they’d let him pass, because simply standing had made him a little light-headed. That didn’t matter though. The important thing was that Kaneki was still alive, and he was going to have a trial. There was still time to save him. He just had to figure out how.

* * *

Kaneki woke up behind iron bars. There were chains around his wrists and ankles and it was dark and cold. His head throbbed.

Suddenly, he sat up. Where was Hide? What had happened to him? He had no clue as to how long he’d been unconscious. He remembered that they’d been captured by the royal guard and taken back to the castle, which meant that Hide was in good hands, right? They wouldn’t let anything happen to him here.

Relieved, he relaxed, just a little. Hide would be fine, even after he was gone.

There was no way around it, he knew. From the outside, it would look like he’d kidnapped Hide and stabbed him to keep him from running away. Nobody would believe it if they told them otherwise. He’d be found guilty of treason and hanged and there was nothing anybody could do about it. He just wished that he could have kept his promise before he died.

Somebody approached his cell and tossed a piece of stale bread inside. There were quite a few piled up in the corner. Moving slowly so as not to exacerbate his headache, he crawled over to the pile and counted. Five pieces of bread including the one he’d just been given; he’d probably been in here for a day or two. That meant he should be feeling hungry, but he didn’t really feel anything. He curled up on the floor and tried to fall asleep again.

The next several days were spent in much the same way. There wasn’t really anything to do in a tiny cell, so he did his best to spend as much time unconscious as possible. Every time a set of footsteps approached he wondered if he was finally going to be executed, but it always turned out to be another scrap of food.

He closed his eyes and thought about nothing.

* * *

 The moment the doctor declared him well enough to be out of bed, Hide started demanding to see Kaneki. His guards were so flustered that they had to bring in his father, who was very unamused.

“What do you possibly hope to gain by this?” he asked.

"What are you so afraid I’ll lose?” Hide shot back. The king narrowed his eyes at him.

“You’ve been confused,” he said. “I understand that he has made you care for him, but as your father I simply cannot allow you into the presence of such a dangerous man. I fear he may try to manipulate you even further.”

He didn’t manipulate me, Hide wanted to say. I’m not being tricked, I fell in love with him of my own will. But of course his father wouldn’t believe that. He’d only take it as more evidence that Kaneki had taken control of his mind and that putting them in the same room would lead to trouble. Forcing himself to take a breath, Hide spoke as calmly and rationally as possible.

“If I can prove to you that I’m not being influenced by anyone, will you let me speak to him? I only want to understand what happened.”

The king searched his face. “…You may go _once_ ,” he said reluctantly. “And you must be accompanied by your guards at all times. If either of them suspects anything, you are to leave immediately. Do you understand?”

Hide confirmed that he did, in fact, understand, trying not to sigh with relief. He would see Kaneki, and together they could figure out what to do.

As he was led down to where they were keeping him, he did everything he could to appear indifferent but it was a challenge. The guards opened the door and a rush of cold air hit him, damp and mildewy. Kaneki was lying on the ground with his back to them.

“…Ken?” asked Hide quietly, kneeling on the other side of the bars. Kaneki stirred and turned around, eyes widening. He crawled closer and Hide’s heart broke- he was too pale, the circles under his eyes too dark. Without thinking he reached through the bars and cupped his face in his hands.

“I’m gonna get you out of here,” he promised, keeping his voice low so the guards wouldn’t hear. “I swear, I won’t let them-”

He stopped. Kaneki was looking at him sadly, like he’d resigned himself to his fate. Like he’d already given up.

“I told you I’d tell you about myself, didn’t I?” he asked. “You should know- they’re right. I… I killed someone.” He sat back and refused to look him in the eye.

“My mom and I… my dad died when I was really young, so my mom got a job working as a maid for a nobleman. I was too young to notice anything, but all the servants… he treated them really badly. Once I was old enough I started working too and that’s when I realized how horrible he was, but we didn’t have anywhere else to go.

“We pretty much never had enough food, but one day he told me that if I did some ‘special’ work that he’d give us extra. So after that I just had to do whatever he told me. Sometimes it wasn’t so bad, but sometimes…” He shuddered and forced himself to continue.

“When I was maybe eleven he started hurting me. He always made sure nobody would be able to tell, and he said that if I told anyone he’d do something even worse. So I… I just let it happen. And then my mom got sick and I didn’t have anyone else to rely on and I just couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t mean to, but he was hurting me and hurting me and I snapped and I took his knife and I stabbed him with it over and over and over and then I got scared so I ran away and now-” He buried his face in his hands and curled into a ball.  Hide reached for him again and pulled him into a hug, ignoring the uncomfortably cold iron against his skin.

“It’s okay,” he told him. “I don’t want you to think for a second that you did the wrong thing. You deserve to live, and you deserve to be able to protect yourself so don’t you dare let anyone tell you different.” He kissed him quickly, aware of the guards behind him.

“I love you,” he managed to say before being forcibly escorted away from the cell. If there had been any doubts in his mind, they were completely gone now. Kaneki had done nothing wrong. He just had to figure out how to prove it- otherwise people would think Kaneki was lying to save his own skin. They had already made up their minds about him and it was going to be hard to change that.

“That’s a nice face you’ve got there,” grinned Furuta. Hide glared at him.

“Why are you still here?” he asked.

“I was invited to help in the trial,” Furuta told him cheerfully. “Aren’t you glad we’ll be able to bring that horrible person to justice?” Hide almost ignored him and walked past, but something stopped him. Something he’d said earlier.

“…Leave us alone,” he told his guards after a moment’s consideration. As soon as they were gone he rounded on Furuta.

“How did you find out about Kaneki?” he demanded. Furuta looked at him with innocent eyes.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” he said.

“Don’t give me that,” Hide spat. “You ‘looked into’ him, you said so yourself. What did you do?”

Furuta grinned at him again. “It’s all about connections, my dear cousin. There’s always _someone_ out there with an answer, if only you know how to find them.”

“Then you know, don’t you? You know why he did it but that doesn’t matter to you.”

"Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. What’s it to you?”

It took all of his self-restraint to keep from punching him then and there. Kaneki’s life was at stake and he was making a game out of it. No, more than that; he had purposely set him up for this, knowing that people would believe his accusations over the word of traitor. He could have made something up and nobody would have questioned it, but that wouldn’t have been fun. Kaneki would have defended himself if he knew he was innocent, but if he believed himself to be guilty he would shut down and leave Hide to scramble for a way out.

“Kaneki is innocent,” he hissed. “And I _will_ prove that, one way or another. You can help me, or I’ll do it myself and everyone will know that you tried to get an innocent man killed.”

For maybe half a second Furuta looked surprised, but his expression quickly reverted to his usual sadistic smile.

“I look forward to seeing it,” he said.

* * *

 Kaneki’s trial was being held in one week. He had one week to prove beyond a doubt that Kaneki had only been acting in self-defense. If he could just do that, he would gladly give up his position to protect him from the treason charge. It was just a matter of how.

He reviewed his options. His father was firmly convinced that he was deluded and wouldn’t even consider the possibility that Kaneki was a good person. Furuta was a sick bastard who delighted in the suffering of others, so he was no use. The only person he could think of who might be willing to help was his mother.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her. She hated going to the castle, and he’d never been allowed to leave. That hadn’t changed, of course, but if he was being rebellious anyway he might as well keep it up. His guards couldn’t stop him from visiting his own mother, anyway.

Knocking on her door felt strange. He heard he moving around inside before the door opened and she looked at him in surprise.

“Hideyoshi?” she asked, as if she didn’t believe it was really him.

“Hi,” he said, raising a hand in greeting. She stepped to the side so he could come in. “I uh… I’m sorry about the vanishing act,” he apologized. His mother looked at him strangely.

“What are you talking about?” she asked. For a second he thought she had to be joking, but he quickly realized that she wasn’t. They hadn’t told her, and he saw her so infrequently that she hadn’t even noticed.

“I…” he started. “I ran away. And I met someone, and I really love him, but he got arrested for defending himself and if I don’t do something they’re gonna kill him and I-” he cut himself off before he got too emotional.  He’d come here to ask for help, not to whine.

“Hideyoshi,” said his mother understandingly. “Why don’t you sit down?” He did and she looked at him sympathetically. “Tell me what happened.”

So he did. He didn’t go into all the details, but he told her about Kaneki and their relationship and how they’d gotten caught. He told her that his father wouldn’t believe anything he said and that he needed somebody to understand that Kaneki wasn’t a bad person.

She listened patiently as he told the story. As he finished, a look of sorrow passed over her face.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” she admitted. “You know I don’t have any real authority.”

“But dad does,” Hide said. “Couldn’t you talk to him? He won’t listen to me, but he’ll listen to you, right? He has to!”

The queen looked uncertain. “I can try,” she said. “But you have to understand, what matters most to both of us is keeping you safe. If he believes you were in danger, it won’t be easy to change his mind.”

“I know.” Hide cast his eyes to the ground. He didn’t see or hear his mother stand up, didn’t notice her walk towards him until she had her arms around him.

“How did you grow up so fast?” she asked quietly. Up close like this Hide realized how much smaller than him she was, and it surprised him. In all his memories she was much taller than him, strong enough to carry him on her shoulders. Had it really been that long?

“I’m sorry,” he said, an all-encompassing apology. “I love you.”

His mother gave him a kiss on the forehead and looked at him fondly. “Be strong,” she told him. “For him. And for me.”

The next few days passed all too quickly. Without being allowed to see Kaneki, he was getting more and more worried. Was he eating properly? Was he getting enough sleep? He wanted nothing more than to hold him in his arms and tell him everything was going to be alright, but he couldn’t even do that. And before he knew it, it was the day of Kaneki’s trial.

He was allowed to witness, but he was forbidden from participating because he wasn’t ‘properly objective.’ Kaneki was brought into the room in chains, looking even worse than he had when Hide visited him. Their eyes met and he made a face that might have been trying to be a smile, but looked more like a grimace. He was directed to the front of the room and told to kneel.

“Kaneki Ken,” said the king. “You have been accused of treason and first-degree murder. If you are found to be guilty of either charge, you will be hanged. How do you plead?”

“I-” Kaneki choked. “I’m-”

Hide stood up. It was now or never, his final chance to convince his father of the truth. All eyes in the room turned to him as he opened his mouth.

“Kaneki didn’t do anything to me,” he said as matter-of-factly as he could. “I ran away of my own will. If anything, he saved-”

“Cousin, please, you need not sacrifice your dignity for this man,” Furuta interrupted him.  Hide bristled.

“I’m not,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m only telling the truth.”

His father raised a hand. “That’s enough,” he said. “Your statements have already been taken into consideration. The question was for the accused.”

It was hard to tell if that was a good thing or not. Did it mean that he’d actually listened to him and just wanted to hear what Kaneki had to say? Or was that a fancy way of saying he was being ignored?

The king turned his attention back to Kaneki. “Well?” he prompted. Kaneki looked around anxiously.

“I… I didn’t,” he stammered. “I would never- Hide is the most important person in my life, I could never hurt him!”

“I see. And the second charge?” Hide’s throat constricted. _Don’t say it,_ he pleaded in his mind. _You deserve to live. Please, don’t say it._

 Kaneki caught his gaze. He opened his mouth but no words came out.  From where Hide was sitting, it looked like he was about to cry.

“I did,” he said quietly. “I didn’t want to, I didn’t mean to, but…” A murmur swept around the room and Hide felt his heart sink. Kaneki was throwing his life away over his guilt and he could do nothing to stop him.

The door opened.

Hide turned along with the rest of the room and almost didn’t recognize the woman standing there. He’d never seen her in her formal clothes before.

The queen took her time walking to the front of the room, stopping to kneel before Kaneki.

“Lift your head,” she told him gently. “You have no need to be ashamed.”

Kaneki looked at her with wide eyes. “I…” he said. “I didn’t want to die. He was horrible. There was nothing else I could do.”

Hide’s mother smiled at him. “I know,” she said. “That man was a monster, and you were absolutely right to stop him when you could. I only wish that I could have acted as you did.”

Hide stared at her. He noticed Furuta looking also, though it was difficult to tell what he was thinking. His mother stood up.

“For twelve years I worked as his servant,” she said loudly so everybody could hear. “Those were the worst twelve years of my life. We were beaten and abused on a regular basis. Many people lost their lives due to negligence. And yet you intend to punish the one who brought an end to his cruelty? If you will not believe the words of a stranger, perhaps you will believe the words of your queen: that man deserved to die.” She stared defiantly into the crowd, daring anyone to challenge her. When nobody did, she nodded approvingly and took a seat next to her son.

The king remained quiet for a moment. He directed his attention back to Kaneki. “Do you still plead guilty?” he asked.

Kaneki’s face had a touch of determination when he answered, though his voice was still shaking. “I killed him,” he said. “I won’t deny that. But I don’t think that was a bad thing. I wanted to live and I have the right to protect myself.”  Hide’s breath caught when he heard the words he’d told him earlier. He glanced at his father, not daring to breathe. The king closed his eyes in thought.

“I find the accused,” he said, “not guilty on this charge.”

Hide could have cried. As it was, he ended up laughing, giving his mother the tightest hug possible.

“However,” the king continued, “we must still decide on the charge of treason.”

No longer worried about the repercussions of disrupting the trial now that the worst was over, Hide stood up again. This time, rather than remaining where he was, he walked over to Kaneki and stood next to him.

“Are you okay?” he whispered, offering his hand. Kaneki hesitated but took it and Hide helped him to his feet.

“Like I said before,” he said, “Kaneki’s completely innocent. I understand that you’re just trying to protect me, but I won’t let you hurt the one I love to do it.” Kaneki moved closer to him and squeezed his hand.  Another murmur made its way through the crowd, but the tone was different, just like he’d hoped. If his father wouldn’t listen to him, he would just have to appeal to everyone else. If they believed in Kaneki’s innocence, there would be no way for the king to sentence him without appearing unfair. From the corner of his eye he saw his mother nod approvingly.

“To clarify for the records,” said his father slowly, “you wish to officially confess to renouncement of the throne?” He didn’t sound angry; he was more tired than anything else. Hide understood that he only wanted the best for him, and especially after losing two sons it must be hard to accept that the third wanted to sever his only connection with you. He knew that, but he’d spent his entire life trying to be what other people wanted and he just couldn’t do it anymore.

“That’s right,” he said definitively. “I ran away and abandoned my duties. You can give me whatever punishment you want, but leave Kaneki out of it.”

"…You are prepared to be relieved of your right to succession?”

“I am.”

He put his arm around Kaneki. The king looked at him as if giving him one more chance to take it back, but there was no way he would do that.  

“If that is the case… I hereby strip crown prince Nagachika Hideyoshi of his title and absolve Kaneki Ken of all charges against him. This court is adjourned.”

And then Hide really did cry, wrapping his arms around Kaneki and sobbing with relief. He had to let go for a moment while they removed Kaneki’s chains and then their arms were around each other and they were laughing and crying at the same time and he could scarcely breathe but it didn’t matter because Kaneki was _here_ and he was _alive_ and they were together and that was all he could ever ask for.

“I love you,” Kaneki told him with his face buried in his shoulder. “I love you so much, I… I…” his voice gave way into tears and Hide held him tighter, repeating the words back to him. He pulled back just enough to cup Kaneki’s face in his hands, pressing their foreheads and then their lips together. They kissed like it was the end of the world, like it was their last saving grace. It had been too long since they had touched like this. To feel each other’s skin under their fingertips, to trace every detail and commit it to memory all over again.

“Stay with me,” whispered Kaneki softly. “Promise?”

And Hide smiled. “I promise,” he said.

* * *

 Kaneki woke up gently in Hide’s arms. Hide was still asleep so he got up carefully, placing a small kiss on his forehead before leaving the room.

“Good morning,” greeted Hide’s mother. She insisted that Kaneki not refer to her as the queen. ‘I am not of royal blood,’ she had explained. ‘I am a queen in name only.’

Kaneki smiled and greeted her in return. He pulled on a coat and stepped outside, breathing in deeply; this was his favorite time of day, when the sun had just barely risen and everything was still fresh and new. A cool breeze mad him shiver and he went back inside.

“There’s tea made, by the way.” He thanked her and poured himself a mug before returning to the room he and Hide shared. He sat by the window and watched the sun creep higher in the sky, smiling at the tranquility of it all. It was nice, having a home.

Hide woke up a few minutes later and smiled at him sleepily.

“Hey, you,” he said, reaching a hand out and beckoning him closer. Kaneki sat on the bed beside him and ran a hand through his messy hair.

“Are you ready for today?” he asked. Hide nodded.

“I love you,” he said, and Kaneki let out a small laugh.

“I love you too,” he answered.

Hide got out of bed and they got dressed, checking the room to make sure everything was in order. When it was clear that they weren’t leaving anything behind, they grabbed their things and placed them by the front door.

“Be safe,” Hide’s mother told them, pulling them both into a hug.

“We will, mom,” Hide laughed. “You don’t need to worry about us.”

She gave him a look that said she would worry as much as she pleased, but her expression quickly shifted to one of fondness. “Come by whenever you want,” she said kindly. She gave them one last hug and stepped back, watching as they prepared to go.

As they stepped out the door, Hide turned to Kaneki. “Shall we?” he asked, gesturing to the world before them. Kaneki took him arm and they headed out to begin their new journey.

They didn’t look back.

**Author's Note:**

> This turned out so much longer than I meant it to. It probably would have been even longer, but I ran out of time and had to rush towards the end, which explains why the entire trial scene is crap. Also, does anyone remember how I said I'd be writing a time-travel AU? Yeah, well, I still haven't given up on that, but it probably won't be ready for a long time. Also I'm working on a fix-it fic for all of us who weren't satisfied with the manga's ending, but again I don't know when that'll be done.


End file.
